windlover

I replaced these bushings 4 years ago and about 10,000 driving miles (it also gets towed a lot) and they are shot. I do some pretty heavy off roading so they do take a beating. Even so, this seems like premature failure. Are there bushing brands that would be recommended or should be avoided. There is also the rubber vs. poly. I went with rubber.

Jeepwalker

Would like more info. Are you talking rear leaf spring bushings? Did they fail both front and back? Just curious if you remember what you bought before? Were they what you thought were "decent quality" bushings at the time, or some cheapo ebay bushings? I see Moog sells bushings ...but then again, Moog has their 'good' top shelf stuff, and they also have a lower import line of products (to compete with import stuff). So it's hard to tell what you put in. And that doesn't mean import proucts are always inferior either.

Have you gone on the Jeep Wrangler sites to see what those extreme off-roaders are doing? I'm sure they know what decent off-roading bushings are. I hate to recommend something for extreme off-roading, but for general use, I'd probably look at Moog rubber bushings for future replacements, *if* they seemed like they were quality bushings. OR try to get my hands on some original chrysler bushings. HD off-roading is really hard on bushings as you know, so the harder core wrangler jeepers should have a better handle on what works best. Maybe there are a couple of those guy who linger around here.

windlover

The bushings that are the worst are the shackle to leaf spring, both sides with the right being the absolute worst. The leaf spring to body on the right side is a little sloppy. I got these from stengel brothers. I have the Rubicon Express leaf spring with the weird bushing size. Shackle to body look OK.

Since these are a weird size, my choices are somewhat limited.

MasonJensen

Consider using a silicone-based or lithium spray lubricant on polyurethane leaf and front control arm bushings to temporarily reduce noise until you can perform a thorough maintenance and regreasing.

vroomvroom

Depends on how frequently you do "heavy offroading". And does "heavy offroading" mean trails or rock crawling or what? Rock crawlers and bushings don't get along. Water and mud don't get along with bushings either. Poly should last longer than rubber if you maintain it. Keep it clean and lubricated.

XJlimitedx99

Leaf spring bushings take a beating. Bit of a tough situation because rubber and poly both have pros/cons. Poly will last longer, but won't flex as well and will probably squeak like crazy. I put rubber bushings in mine. Honestly you might just have to chalk it up to a wear item from wheeling and replace them more frequently. 4 years of trail service doesn't seem terrible IMO. You could look into something like orbit-eyes, but those can get expensive and have their own drawbacks.

There are some newer bushing designs on the market that could work well. Clayton's GIIRO bushings and Metalcloak's Duroflex bushings. They're marketed as a cross between a poly and a rubber bushing. NVH and flex characteristics of rubber with the durability of poly. IMO something like this is much more appropriate for leaf springs because the bushing needs to be self-centering to keep the axle aligned, whereas something like a Johnny joint has no self-centering force. FWIW, I have the Clayton shackles with GIIRO bushings and they are friggen sweet. I've only run them for a season, so no word on durability.

Whatever you do, don't use petroleum based lubes on the rubber, as typically they will degrade.